Slack-adjuster



(No Modem 3 Sheets-Sheet E. OHAQUETTE. I SLACK ADJUSTER. No. 542,627.Patented July 16, 1895.

INVENTOR m ATTORNEY WiTNESSES:

Ti/111ml, I)\lillilllilllllillflllllllillllll ll (No Model.) 3Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. OHAQUETTE. 'SLAUK ADJUSTER.

No. 542,627. PatentedJuly 16, 1895 munumm I'll PATENT Canton.

EPHRAIEM CHAQUETTE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SLACK-ADJU STER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 542,627, dated July 16,1895.

Application filed September 14, 1894- serial No. 522,997- (No model.)

To 00% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LEPHRAIEM CHAQUETTE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brakesfor Railroad-Car \Vheels; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will euableothers skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to certain novel and useful improvements incar-brakes, either such as are operated by hand or by compressed air, orby the vacuu m,and the object thereof is to provide a simple andeflicient take-up, attachable to the brake-rod or otherpower-transmitting connection of either of the kinds of brake abovereferred to, whereby any wear of the brake-shoes may be compensated forand any lost motion promptly and automatically taken up; and with theseends in view myinvention consists and resides in the construction andcombination of elements hereinafter fully and in detail explained, andthen recited in the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsmay fully understand its construction and method of operation, I willproceed to describe the same in detail, reference being had totheaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and inwhich Figures 1 and 2 are broken side elevations of railway-cars havingmy invention applied at difierent locations. Fig. 3 is a detail planView of the braking devices shown at Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of myimprovement in detail and enlarged. Fig. 5 is acentral longitudinalhorizontal section. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of one of theslide-blocks. Fig. 7 is a section on the line y y of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is adetail side elevation. Fig. 9 shows a detail elevation of theoperating-lever, and Fig. 10 is a detail section on the line to w ofFig. 7. The same numerals denote the same parts in each of the figuresof the drawings. By the numeral 1 I denote a housing in which certain ofthe parts of my invention are inclosed.

2 denotes a brake-rod of any desired type or construction, and adaptedto operate in connection with any suitable form of brake mechanism; Forthe interposition of my invention the brake-rod is cut in two, as shownfor instance at Fig; 5, and its extremities oppositely screw-threaded,as at 3. From each end of the housing 1 a pair of arms 4 extendoutwardly, their opposed faces forming guideways for the accommodationof slide-blocks 5, which, as seen particularly atFigs. 4, 5, and 8, arefirmly secured upon the brake-rod, as for instance by set-screws 6.

Contained within the housing is a large double-ended nut 7, whose endsare journaled in the ends of the housing, as shown at Fig. 5, and Whoseinterior is screw-threaded for the accommodation of the brake-rod, asdenoted by 8, the threads in one end being right hand, and in the otherleft hand, so thatwhen the screw-threaded ends of the brake-rod are inengagement with the threads, a rotative movement of the nut will eitherdraw said ends together or force them apart, according to the directionof the rotation. Near its center the nut 7 bears a pair of peripheralflanges 9, between whose opposed faces is secured, by means of bolts,screws, or other fasteuing, an annulus 10 of vulcanized rubber, leather,or metal. 1

Around the hubs 11, which appear upon the nut within the housing; and ateither side of the'flanges, are journaled levers 12 of the shape shownat Fig. 9.- The outer ends of these levers, which I denote by 13, arejoined by across bar. or plate 14., so as to cause the two parts 13 tomove as one lever. At the other extremity the levers are provided withprojections 15, and between these, upon a stout shaft or bolt 16, isjournaled apawl' 17, whose face liesin constant engagement with theperiphery of the annuluslO. Below the pawl just described and pivoted onthe inside of the casing is another pawl 18, whose face also engages theannulus and which is retained in such engagement by means of a spring19. The constructions just described are clearly shown at Fig. 7. Theprojections 13 and their cross-bar are accommodated in arecess orextension of the housing (see Fig. 7) and they are normally helddownward by means of a stout spring 20 interposed between the cross bar14 and the top wall of the housing. Just below the spring and cross-barthe housing is arm or tappet 23.

All the parts hereinbefore described are supported and carried upon thebrake-rod itself. (Jo-operating with these parts and adapted to engagethe extremity of the tappet 23 is a stop or abutment-head 24:, which maybe affixed to any part of the car that is stationary with reference tothe brake-rod. This stop is shown at Fig. 8 as mounted on the end of ashort rod 25, which passes through and is adjustable in the lower end ofa hanger 26, depending from one of the beams of the car, so as tosupport the head 24 in the path of movement of the extremity of thetappet23.

In equipping a car with my invention the parts are so placed that theextreme limit of the braking movement of the brake-rod will carry thetappet toward and so as totouch the head 24:, (see Fig. 8,) the reversemovement returningit away from and out of contact with said head. Now,so long as no wear has occurred upon the shoes carried by the brakerodsat their outer extremities, said shoes will have a firm and uniformimpact against the car-wheels at each braking movement, and the tappetwill, in the course of such braking movement, he carried just intocontact with the head. This will of course produce no movement of thetappet, but as wear takes place as to the shoes, the wheel-treads, orany of the connections or couplings, a little longer movement of thebrake-rod is thereby rendered necessary to force the shoes into fullbraking-contact, and accordingly the brakerod will move to an extendedlimit and the tappet will thus be forced against the head 24, therebyturning the short shaft 21 in its hearing. This partial rotation oftheshaft raises the lever 22 and forces the outer connected ends 13 ofthe lever 12 upward against the force of the spring 20. This movement ofthe levers-drags the pawl 17. for a little distance over the surface ofthe annulus, and when the pressure is released by the reverse movementof the brakerod the spring 20. depresses the levers. and they, throughthe pawl, turn the threaded nut slightly, thereby drawing together thethreaded extremities of thebrakerod. This, as will be readilyunderstood, shortens the rod and compensates for slack or wear or lostmotion, from whatsoever cause it may have-arisen. be effected as oftenas any shortening of the rod is necessary. Any reverse rotation of the 1nut is prevented by the bite of the detentpawl 18 on the surface of theannulus.

In applying my improvement the latter may i be secured directly upon thebrake-rod 2, as shown at Fig. 1, and as above described, or saidimprovement may be secured upon the connecting-rod 27,whtch connects thebraking devices for two wheels, so that such devices may operate inharmony, as shown at Fig. 2. Referring to this last-mentioned adaptationof my invention, it will, of course, be understood that the rod 27should be cut in two and-the sections thereof threaded to engage withthe nut 7, as in the instance of the brakerod 2, the shortening ofeither the connecting-rod 27 or the brake-rod 2 having, of course, thesame effect with regard to changing the normal position of thebrake-shoes.

I claim 1. In a take-up device for car brakes, the combination with thebrake rod having its opposed ends oppositely screw-th readed, of a nuthaving right and left hand screw-threads and joining the ends of thebrake-rod, a housing in which said. nut is supported and may be rotated,a lever fulerumed upon the nut and provided with a pawl for engaging thelatter, a second lever having'operative connection with-the first andprojecting outside the housing, and a fixed abut-inert or head adjacentto and adapted to turn a secondary lever, substantially as specified.

.2. In a take-up device for car brakes, the combination with the brakerod whose adjacent ends are oppositely screw-threaded, of the-similarlyscrew-threaded nut joined to the ends of the brake red, the housingwherein the nut has a bearing, a spring-returned pawlbearing leverfulcrumed about the nut and adapted to rotate the same, a detent pawlattached to the interior of the housing, and the secondary lever andmeans for operating the same whereby the pawl-carrying lever isactuated, substantially as set forth.

3. In a take-upmechanism for car brakes, the combination with the brakerod whose extremities are oppositely screw threaded, of the nut providedwith right and left hand screw threads and joining the ends of thebrakerod, a housing inclosing the nut and forming a bearing therefor, waysupon the housing co-operating with slide blocks on the brake rod,aspring-returned pawl-carrying lever arranged within the housing andadapted.

to actuate the nut, means for holding said nut against retrogression,and a secondary lever having operative engagement with the primarylever, and a head for the actuation of .said secondary lever, the wholearranged sub- ;stantially as described. This compensating will I Intestimony whereof I aliix my signature in presenceof two witnesses.

EPHRAlEM CHAQUETTE. Witnesses:

F. W. SMITH, J11, M. T. LONGDEN.

